Cestrum aurantiacum Lindl.
Frost tender evergreen shrub with arching branches, ovate to lance-shaped leaves and axillary and terminal panicle-like cymes of tubular bright orange flowers in spring and summer. To 3m. [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].
Horticultural & Botanical History
‘This beautiful deciduous greenhouse shrub is a native of Chimalapa, in Guatamala, where seeds of it were collected by Mr. Skinner, who presented them to the Horticultural Society. When in flower the plant is a very striking object; the blossoms are produced in great profusion, and have a delicious fragrance. Their colour is a very bright orange. In winter, when the branches are divested of leaves, a number of white pear-shaped berries make the plant still an object of attraction. […] The flowers of most of the Cestrums are fragrant, but the berries of several are fatally poisonous. Some are used in medicine, and others in the arts of life.’ [MB p.77/1847].
Introduced to Europe in 1842. [JD]. ‘It flowered in the Chiswick Garden in August. 1844. The flowers are not only beautiful, but they last for a long time, and breathe a very pleasant perfume of orange-peel.’ [BR f.22/1845]. OFG f.85/1854. FS p.79 vol.1/1845.
History at Camden Park
Listed only in the 1857 catalogue [T.306/1857]. Naturalised in parts of Australia including NSW north from Nowra [FNSW].
Notes
Cestrum aurantiacum Mey. ex Steud. (1840) = Freylinia cestroides Colla, a tall South African shrub with fragrant, creamy-white flowers, introduced to Britain in 1774. [RHSD].
Published Feb 27, 2010 - 02:51 PM | Last updated Feb 27, 2010 - 02:56 PM
Cestrum aurantiacum Lindl. | BR f.22/1845 | RBGS
| Family | Solanaceae |
|---|---|
| Category | |
| Region of origin | Central and South America |
| Synonyms | |
| Common Name | Orange Cestrum |
| Name in the Camden Park Record |
Cestrum aurantiacum |
| Confidence level | high |